Textbook Ephemeral

Some people believe that things like eclipses are omens. Maybe they are.

When I was being awed by the lunar eclipse and the shooting star on Saturday, my friend and former father-in-law, Ed, died suddenly. He was walking with his beloved wife to the car to do some shopping, laughing and talking, when he suddenly dropped dead. John says he doesn’t think his father knew what hit him.

I am profoundly saddened by his loss, more than I would have expected, considering I haven’t seen him for several years. Ed and Marj, his wife, were never anything but loving to me. To this day, I could call Marj and tell her I needed a place to stay or bail money and she’d pick me up with a hug and a smile.

A few years after John and I separated, Ed wrote this to me:

“Susan, you don’t ever have to worry about Marj and I not caring for you, you will always have a place in our hearts. Things happen to people and that is just a fact of life, you pick up the pieces and carry on and sooner or later you will find yourself looking forward to getting up in the morning with a smile on your face and peace in your heart. It takes time to have all these things heal, but it will happen, believe me.

Keep in touch and take care of yourself and write anytime you need a friend. Marj sends her love and so do I.”

It takes a pretty generous guy to love his youngest son’s ex-wife. But he was always a remarkably kind, loving, and humorous man. They don’t make ’em like Ed any more. He was a gentle man and a gentleman. I am thankful for his friendship and love, and I will always miss him and keep him in my heart.

Sorry for your lost Suzy, it is never easy to lose someone in life and in this case a loving one, and judging for what he wrote, he will be missed by many. I can tell the wisdom and eloquence of this man will be passed to his children so they can acquire faith, courage, generosity and understanding and last but not least the proper way of living.